Luke 24:13-35
Now on that same day two of Jesus’ disciples were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and talking with each other about all these things that had happened. While they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them, but their eyes were kept from recognizing him. And he said to them, “What are you discussing with each other while you walk along?” They stood still, looking sad. Then one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have taken place there in these days?” He asked them, “What things?” They replied, “The things about Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how our chief priests and leaders handed him over to be condemned to death and crucified him. But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things took place. Moreover, some women of our group astounded us. They were at the tomb early this morning, and when they did not find his body there, they came back and told us that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who said that he was alive. Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said; but they did not see him.” Then he said to them, “Oh, how foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have declared! Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and then enter into his glory?” Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures.
As they came near the village to which they were going, he walked ahead as if he were going on. But they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, because it is almost evening and the day is now nearly over.” So he went in to stay with them. When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him; and he vanished from their sight. They said to each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?” That same hour they got up and returned to Jerusalem; and they found the eleven and their companions gathered together. They were saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and he has appeared to Simon!” Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread.
Recognizing Christ in the Everyday
I can only imagine the predicament these two disciples were in. In this moment they are experiencing something that every follower of Christ would love to experience. But at the same time, they are looking ridiculously dumb! Here is Jesus, risen from the dead, talking with them and they are like, “are you the only one in Jerusalem that doesn’t have a clue??!!” And they are talking to the risen Lord about how they are not sure if they can believe the reports that He has risen!! Imagine trying to explain to Jesus who Jesus is!! Imagine having Jesus, tell you how foolish you are!
But! Then! Imagine having Jesus explain to you the scriptures!!!🤯 I cannot imagine Jesus, revealing to me, personally as I get to ask him questions along the way, all that was written about Him from Moses through the prophets. Which was the entirety of scripture at that point! Jesus himself is pointing out on a 7 (some translations say 17) mile walk, all that has been written about Him but was not revealed till now! I can’t believe don’t have that recorded.
So their predicament is that the dumbest thing they ever did is going to be written down for all to see: they tried to teach Jesus about Jesus HA! But in exchange, they received revelation directly from Jesus about Jesus!! All while not knowing that it was Jesus!! I just can’t imagine all the places in scripture that were opened up to them and were never the same. Well actually, I can’t even imagine how this would have went. I start by picturing Jesus teaching them from the bible as they broke out their own bibles. Oh wait, they used scrolls. Oh wait, this is before the printing press so only temples had scrolls. So he taught them from memory!!! Christ is the word so I’m not talking about His memory. Its these two disciples!! How much of the old testament had they memorized? They know it well enough for their hearts to be burning within them. These scriptures they knew from the time they were a child were opened up in a whole new way they had never seen before! I wonder how many times from this point on they revisited passage after passage in their minds and fed their hearts and souls on what Jesus revealed to them this day.
Jesus says that He is with us till the end of the age, He will never leave or forsake us. One way that He is always with us is through the scriptures. As it is now, anyone, at least in the US, can wake up and read scripture any day and every day! And Jesus, who is always with us, reveals Himself to us in His word! How is that not the most amazing thing we can do every day. We can spend time with the risen Lord and have our hearts set on fire. And maybe as we have to turn our attention towards the common everyday stuff we have to do, it is then that Christ will not just be in the scriptures that we read about but we will see how he is manifest in our lives and has been there all along. Perhaps the take away is that until I learn to see Christ in the scriptures, I won’t be able to recognize him in my life though He is right there in front of me.